Carbohydrate Content Of Foods

Cut saturated fat, refined sugar to boost your brain

The glycemic index measures how quickly your blood glucose (sugar) rises after eating a carbohydrate-rich food. High glycemic foods such as white bread, white rice, table sugar and soft drinks cause rapid spikes in blood glucose and insulin, the hormone that lowers blood glucose.

Conversely, low glycemic foods, which include steel-cut oats, brown rice, sweet potatoes, yogurt and apples, are converted to blood glucose slowly and don’t cause an influx of insulin.

Previous research has hinted that saturated fat (e.g. meat and dairy fat) increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease whereas replacing it with healthier fats, such as olive oil, has a protective effect.

A diet heavy in both saturated fat and refined carbohydrates (e.g. white starches and sugar) is also linked with a greater risk of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body – and brain – cannot properly use insulin. It’s thought diabetes and insulin resistance accelerate the build-up of plaque in the brain, a process that underpins Alzheimer’s disease.

In the study, researchers gave 49 adults in their mid-60s one of two diets designed to affect insulin levels and insulin resistance: a high saturated fat/high glycemic diet (dubbed as the “high” diet by the researchers) and a low saturated fat/low glycemic diet (or “low”). The objective was to see how each diet affected levels of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in the brain.

A biomarker is a substance indicative of the disease. In this case, researchers measured the concentration of a beta amyloid 42, a sticky protein linked to Alzheimer’s. Beta amyloid is the main component of the plaques found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

Among the participants, 20 were healthy older adults and 29 had mild cognitive impairment. (Individuals with mild cognitive impairment have memory problems not severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease but they are at increased risk of progressing to the disease.)

As expected, the high diet increased insulin, insulin resistance and LDL (bad) cholesterol in healthy and memory-impaired participants while the low diet had the opposite effect.

In healthy adults the high diet increased the concentration of the beta amyloid 42 protein whereas the low diet reduced it.

A Carbohydrate Food List: Review of the Foods Richest in Carbs

A carbohydrate food list and amino acid food list will help you with your carbohydrate counting. A starch food list can help to count carbs!

Those pesky carbohydrates are getting blamed for everything these days.  Ever since the Atkin’s diet exploded in popularity, many people run from carbs like they would run from a runaway car.  However, while a runaway car is dangerous to everyone in its wake, a carbohydrate is only dangerous if you don’t know the proper way to use it.  The fact is, we need carbohydrates to survive.  The problem arises when you don’t know how many carbs you have eaten in a single day.  You can solve this problem, however, with a simple carbohydrate food list!

Carbohydrates are the elements of food that provide us with the crucial energy required to get through the day.  We need carbs to survive.  However, if too many carbs are consumed and not enough carbs are converted to usable energy, the leftovers are transformed into fat reserves: your body is attempting to save those carbs for a rainy day, and you end up with a spare tire around your midriff.

The solution, however, is not to cut carbohydrates out of your diet completely.  This is unwise and very dangerous.  Instead, you simply need to count the number of carbohydrates you consume on a daily basis.  You can achieve this with a simple carbohydrate food list.  An example of such a list is provided below:

It’s simple, isn’t it?  To begin, jot down a list of the foods you eat on a regular basis.  You can include anything on this list, even foods that you suppose to be a little on the unhealthy side.  Next, research the carbohydrate content of all the foods on your list and jot down the carb content next to the food item.  This process will help to educate you about the foods you eat, as well.  If you want to make your list a little more thorough, you can convert it into a starch food list or amino acid food list by jotting down those content numbers as well.  Now, you have a list of your favorite foods with an easily referenced guide as to how many carbohydrates each serving of a particular food contains.

Once you have your carbohydrate food list, it’s time to start counting those carbs!  First, determine how many carbs you should be consuming every day in order to either lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.  This number will depend upon your activity level, your age, your height and your weight.  You can find this information on any health reference website.  Once you know the magic number, you can start referencing each food you eat to determine how many carbs it contains.  Keep a careful log of your carb intake, and adjust your diet if necessary!

The carbohydrate content of foods

Carbohydrate content of foods

The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition

Foods & nutrition encyclopedia

Foods & nutrition encyclopedia